aluminum seats
Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2006
- Messages
- 10,450
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I was thinking about this in the aftermath of the Pats victory over the Cardinals. My perception of Bruce Arians, both in terms of results & demeanor, was that of a tough, no-nonsense, capable coach. But the Cardinals team on Sunday seemed unprepared, and his reaction since the game has left a lot to be desired.
Got me thinking: who’s the second-best coach in the league?
There’s a lot of guys who just blend together, and of course in a lot of cases it’s hard to separate the coaching from the personnel—an excellent coach can be saddled with a lousy GM. And it’s a QB league, so it’s hard to excel without an elite QB. So what have we got?
--We all love Sean Payton, but the Saints sure have struggled even with an elite QB. Is Mickey Loomis a bad GM? My Pats-centric focus leads me to ask others here who know more.
--The Steelers are typically a contender, but no, I’m not picking Mike Tomlin as the second-best coach in the league.
--Ron Rivera…I mean, I don’t know. See my point about being Pats-centric, but…
--Gary Kubiak rode an incredibly hot defense to a title last year, and they won their opener this year. I’d like to see how this season plays out a bit more, but winning a Super Bowl buys you some credibility.
--John Harbaugh’s confusion over the Pats’ formations, whining about it afterwards, and his possible involvement in deflategate are all pretty big black marks against the guy, but generally speaking he has his team ready to play, particularly in the playoffs. Personal animosity aside, he’s maybe the second-best coach in the league. But that’s a lot to put aside.
So my answer? I honestly can’t see a clear choice. Am I missing someone? (Pete Carroll? Chip Kelly? I mean, really?) Could we look into some way to reverse Bill Belichick’s aging?
EDIT: I was really focusing on the "second best current head coach" component of this, so I edited the title--seeing college coaches and assistants here. Agreed that the Pats' OC or DC would be among the top choices, but that's not what I was curious about.
Of course, you can go ahead and talk about those coaches. Talk about whatever the hell you want, what do I care.
Got me thinking: who’s the second-best coach in the league?
There’s a lot of guys who just blend together, and of course in a lot of cases it’s hard to separate the coaching from the personnel—an excellent coach can be saddled with a lousy GM. And it’s a QB league, so it’s hard to excel without an elite QB. So what have we got?
--We all love Sean Payton, but the Saints sure have struggled even with an elite QB. Is Mickey Loomis a bad GM? My Pats-centric focus leads me to ask others here who know more.
--The Steelers are typically a contender, but no, I’m not picking Mike Tomlin as the second-best coach in the league.
--Ron Rivera…I mean, I don’t know. See my point about being Pats-centric, but…
--Gary Kubiak rode an incredibly hot defense to a title last year, and they won their opener this year. I’d like to see how this season plays out a bit more, but winning a Super Bowl buys you some credibility.
--John Harbaugh’s confusion over the Pats’ formations, whining about it afterwards, and his possible involvement in deflategate are all pretty big black marks against the guy, but generally speaking he has his team ready to play, particularly in the playoffs. Personal animosity aside, he’s maybe the second-best coach in the league. But that’s a lot to put aside.
So my answer? I honestly can’t see a clear choice. Am I missing someone? (Pete Carroll? Chip Kelly? I mean, really?) Could we look into some way to reverse Bill Belichick’s aging?
EDIT: I was really focusing on the "second best current head coach" component of this, so I edited the title--seeing college coaches and assistants here. Agreed that the Pats' OC or DC would be among the top choices, but that's not what I was curious about.
Of course, you can go ahead and talk about those coaches. Talk about whatever the hell you want, what do I care.
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